How to Train Your Dragon in Concert

Seeing How to Train Your Dragon, a movie that I love, while the Utah Symphony performed the amazing Academy Award nominated score by John Powell live in front of an enthusiastic capacity crowd last night was so much fun!  The Vikings on the island of Berk are regularly attacked by dragons but Hiccup (Jay Baruchel), the son of the chief Stoik the Vast (Gerard Butler), is deemed too weak and awkward to fight them.  He is apprenticed to the blacksmith Gobber (Craig Ferguson), instead, so he makes a mechanical device which he uses to shoot down the rare Night Fury dragon during an attack.  When he discovers that the dragon was only wounded, he can't bring himself to kill him and sets him free.  He eventually befriends the dragon, naming him Toothless because of his retractable teeth, and makes a prosthetic for his wounded tail fin so he can fly again.  Hiccup ultimately discovers that everything the Vikings know about the dragons is wrong and that they must join together to face an even bigger threat.  The score features lots of booming brass and percussion with elements from Scottish folk music (I wish that there had been a piper on stage) but my favorite pieces featured beautiful themes by the strings, including "Forbidden Friendship" when Hiccup finally gets Toothless to trust him (this received lots of applause from the audience), "Test Drive" when Hiccup learns to ride Toothless, and "Romantic Flight" when Toothless flies Hiccup and Astrid (America Ferrera) through the clouds and the Northern lights.  I also loved the piano in "Where's Hiccup?" in the aftermath of the battle with Red Death.  Since the music is so epic, the experience of hearing it live while watching the movie is incredibly immersive!  I guarantee that if you love the movie you will love the concert!  Due to popular demand, the Utah Symphony has added two more chances to see it (in June) but you need to act quickly because tickets are almost gone (go here).

Fiddler on the Roof at the Terrace Plaza Playhouse

The musical Fiddler on the Roof is an old favorite of mine and I honestly don't think I will ever get tired of seeing it (I have seen it so many times I have to stop myself from singing along to every song). Last night I saw the second of three productions of this show that I have scheduled this year at the Terrace Plaza Playhouse and it was delightful. Tevye (Duane Beesley) is a poor Jewish dairyman living in the small village of Anatevka in Tsarist Russia. He and his wife Golde (Logan Peterson) cling to their traditional way of life as a protection from the harsh realities of life until their three oldest daughters, Tzeitel (Bria Snow), Hodel (Candra Young), and Chava (Daphne Dixon), push against these traditions when it is time to find a match. This show features a large ensemble cast and they are utilized very well in the small space, especially in "Tradition," "Sabbath Prayer" (I loved the different groups of families located all over the theater), "Sunrise, Sunset," and "The Rumor" (having the action move around the different areas of the stage as the rumor spreads is really effective). Not only is the ensemble used very well but they do a really good job with the choreography, particularly in "To Life" and in the wedding scene (I always love the bottle dance). There was a tiny little boy who was concentrating so hard on the choreography in "Tradition" and I overheard one of the actors on stage near me whisper, "He did it!" This is why I love community theatre! The main cast is also outstanding. Beesley is much more soft-spoken than other Tevyes that I have seen but this made his version of "Do You Love Me?" with Peterson even more endearing and his version of "Little Bird" even more heartbreaking. Peterson is one of the sassiest Goldes I've seen and her facial expressions are hilarious. Other standouts for me are Carla Lambardo Bambo as Yente, Ethan Snow as Motel, Alex Young as Perchik, and Kelsey Porter as the Fiddler (she is integrated into the story a lot more in this production). My favorite part of the show was The Dream Sequence because Fruma-Sarah (Abbie Webb) suddenly emerges from the middle of Tevye and Golde's bed. I was laughing out loud because that was exactly how I appeared when I played Fruma-Sarah and it brought back so many fun memories (one night a little old man was so shocked when I suddenly appeared that he screamed out loud). The elaborate sets for Tevye's house (interior and exterior) and barn are impressive and I also liked all of the smaller set pieces, such as the village inn, Motel's tailor shop, and the railway station, that are located on the platforms on either side of the stage. I firmly believe that seeing all of the old favorites, like Fiddler on the Roof, when I was young is why I love musical theatre to this day and I really encourage people to take advantage of all of the many opportunities to see community theatre performances in the Salt Lake area. This production runs on Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays through June 1 (go here for tickets).

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

I usually really enjoy Guy Ritchie's movies (I have expunged King Arthur: Legend of the Sword from my memory) so I was really excited to see The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare last night.  This is inspired by a true story based on recently declassified files about a daring mission during World War II that led to the formation of the SAS and I had a lot of fun with it.  German U-boats control the Atlantic Ocean making it difficult for the Americans to join the war effort which Prime Minister Winston Churchill (Rory Kinnear) is desperate for them to do to alleviate the stress of constant bombing by the Lutwaffe and to stop his advisors from pushing for an appeasement agreement with Germany.  Brigadier Colin Gubbins (Cary Elwes) and Ian Fleming (Freddie Fox), a member of Naval Intelligence, come up with a bold but unsanctioned plan to destroy the U-boat supply ship, Duchessa d'Aosta, stationed at an island off the coast of West Africa called Fernando Po.  They recruit Major Gus March-Phillipps (Henry Cavill), an insubordinate officer serving time in prison, to lead Operation Postmaster and he assembles his own team, including Henry Hayes (Hero Fiennes Tiffin), Freddy Alvarez (Henry Golding), and Anders Lassen (Alan Ritchson).  Agents Richard Heron (Babs Olusanmokun) and Marjorie Stewart (Eiza Gonzalez) are sent ahead to distract Heinrich Luhr (Til Schweiger), the SS commandant of Fernando Po, while Gus and his crew make a detour to rescue Geoffrey Appleyard (Alex Pattyfer), a saboteur being held in the Canary Islands by the Gestapo.  When their plan goes awry they must use unconventional methods to achieve their mission.  This features everything I love about a Guy Ritchie movie: exciting action sequences, a distinctive score that adds to the mayhem, and a wise-cracking protagonist with a bunch of misfit sidekicks.  Cavill is incredibly charismatic as the agent who is believed to have inspired Ian Fleming to create James Bond and, even though Kinnear is probably the worst Churchill I have seen on film (he doesn't look or sound anything like him), the rest of the cast is *ahem* a lot of fun to watch and they have great chemistry with each other.  The story itself is compelling but I didn't really feel a lot of tension or suspense (the Nazis are dispatched almost too easily).  I was, however, very entertained and I recommend it to fans of Ritchie.

Timpanogos Community Theater's The Pirates of Penzance

Last year I was so impressed by Timpanogos Community Theater's production of The Sound of Music that I immediately vowed to come back for another show. I finally made good on that promise by seeing The Pirates of Penzance last night and I'm sorry that I waited so long because I really enjoyed myself! It is one of the funniest versions of this comedic operetta that I have ever seen! Frederic (Adam Moore) has reached his 21st birthday and wishes to leave the band of pirates to whom he has been mistakenly apprenticed. After leaving the pirates, Frederic meets Major-General Stanley (Brett Hansen) and his daughters, falls in love with the youngest daughter Mabel (Kyra Fowler), and enlists the Sergeant of Police (Aaron Bone) and his constables to arrest the pirates. Chaos ensues when the Pirate King (Aaron Williams) and Ruth (Vivian Mathias), Frederic's former nursemaid, tell him that he was born during a leap year and, since he has only had five birthdays, he must continue to serve his apprenticeship. The set is quite simple, consisting of a ship, the seaside, and a graveyard (there is also an amusing miniature ship that is used several times), and the costumes are a lot more straightforward than in other productions of this show that I have seen (the Major-General does not even have any medals) but it matters not because the comedy comes from the brilliant staging, choreography, and performances without having to rely on sight gags. I was laughing from beginning to end at the physicality in all of the scenes but my favorites were Frederic and Ruth's interactions "Oh! false one, you have deceiv'd me" when he learns that she is not as beautiful as she has claimed to be, Frederic hiding in plain sight from the daughters in "Climbing over rocky mountains," when the daughters feign disinterest in Frederic during "Oh, is there not one maiden breast" (Ciara Hulet's facial expressions killed me), when the daughters keep moving closer to overhear Frederic and Mabel in "How beautifully blue the sky," when the pirates and daughters dramatically gasp for breath during "I am the very model of a modern Major-General," and when the constables and the pirates hide in plain sight from the Major General in "Hush, hush! not a word." The ensemble, who all sing and dance as pirates, daughters, and constables, is outstanding and so much fun to watch and I also loved Fowler's beautiful rendition of "Poor wand'ring one" and Williams' enthusiastic version of "Oh! better far to live and die." My favorite performance, however, was that of Moore because he is incredibly appealing as Frederic! He has a beautiful voice, especially when he sings "Stay, Fred'ric, stay," "Ah, leave me not to pine," and "Oh, here is love, and here is truth" with Fowler, but his comedic timing coupled with his earnest expression (and rosy cheeks) is enchanting! Hurrah for this production for putting a big smile on my face! It runs at the Valentine Theater on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays through May 4 and I highly recommend it (go here for tickets).

Guitar Celebrations: JIJI Plays Rodrigo's Guitar Concerto

I always love it when I walk into Abravanel Hall and see lots of percussion instruments on the stage but when they are joined by rows of amps and pedal boards it is even more exciting!  Last night's Utah Symphony concert was the culmination of a week long guitar festival conceived by USUO Creative Partner David Robertson featuring the super group Another Night on Earth (including the acoustic and electric guitarists Steven Mackey, Joe Gore, James Moore, Heiko Ossig, Daniele Gottardo, JIJI, and Gretchen Menn) with guitar pieces of every genre.  It was amazing!  The concert began with Mackey's Turn the Key with the composer as soloist.  This piece was very playful with a fun rhythm that was infectious.  I loved the use of lots of different percussion instruments (including the clapping of hands) and the harp solo.  Next came a piece arranged by Robertson and Gore called Falling Through Time: Music from the 1300s which is a collection of medieval music using modern instruments and percussion.  This was seriously cool and I loved how the electric guitar, played by Gore, seemed to take the place of the chanting that is usually heard in this type of music.  This was followed by Moore's Sleep is Shattered with the composer as soloist on electric guitar.  It is inspired by Dante's Divine Comedy and the guitar acts as the impetus for transporting the audience to various states of being and it features lots of interesting distortions.  It might not be for everyone because it was really trippy but I really dug it!  After the intermission Robertson joked that he knew the audience only sat through the other pieces just to get to this one (I really like him because he is so charming) before performing a piece arranged by Leo Brouwer called Beatlerianas with Ossig as soloist on acoustic guitar.  This is a medley of Beatles songs, including "Eleanor Rigby," "Yesterday," "She's Leaving Home," "Ticket to Ride" "Got to Get You Into My Life," "Here, There and Everywhere," and "Penny Lane," and it was absolutely beautiful!  It was obviously my favorite piece of the evening!  The world premiere of Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra by Gottardo came next with the composer as soloist on electric guitar.  This had a jazz sound and I especially liked the second movement because it is a bit melancholy (Robertson described it as nostalgia for something you haven't experienced yet).  The orchestra continued with one of the most popular pieces for guitar, Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquin Rodrigo, with JIJI as soloist on Spanish guitar.  I loved all of the guitar solos (JIJI was brilliant and so much fun to watch) throughout and the dramatic themes played by the strings in the second movement. All of the guitarists returned to the stage for an epic rendition of G-Spot Tornado by Frank Zappa which rocked the house to close out the concert!  I thoroughly enjoyed this show and now I really want to start playing my guitar again!  This program will be repeated again tonight (go here for tickets).